


Luthors are Ravenclaws

by katfoxmandu



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Harry Potter AU, SuperCorp
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-13
Updated: 2017-11-13
Packaged: 2019-02-01 22:41:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12714300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katfoxmandu/pseuds/katfoxmandu
Summary: Eleven year-old Lena Luthor riding the train to Hogwarts.An unexpected visitor.And a sudden realization.





	Luthors are Ravenclaws

**Author's Note:**

> I saw a lot of debate about which house Lena would be in after Katie McGrath said Lena would be Gryffindor, possibly Ravenclaw.   
> Here's my response to that.

Luthors are Ravenclaws.

It’s a fact.

Everyone knows it, everyone expects it, and no one questions it.

They are smart and witty, just on the verge of cunning that they slip out of Slytherin’s grasp, and clever enough to know where to draw the line.

When Lillian waves from the platform, her smile not quite reaching her eyes, Lena knows. She knows what her mother expects, and there’s no question about it.  The Sorting Hat will be placed on Lena’s silky black hair, just enough to recognize the family resemblance, and declare to the rest of the school her obvious house designation.

Ravenclaw.

Luthors are Ravenclaws.

It’s a fact.

But Lena doesn’t wave back. She stares through the window from her compartment, the platform at Kings Cross fading quickly before it’s gone in a blur of bustling witches and wizards and cityscapes that will soon be replaced by the English countryside.

Others peer into the car, their heads poking in then out, eyes searching for familiar faces. Disappointed when they’re met with Lena’s hopeful gaze. Some gasp. Others scurry away quickly, whispers on their lips.

A Luthor.

A Luthor’s on the train.

Luthors are Ravenclaws.

It’s a fact.

Lena sighs, knowing full well the reasons for their behavior. She’s experienced it her entire life. Complete strangers oogling over their accomplishments in the street, awards being placed in the hands of her father, her mother, her brother. Her aunts and uncles.  Her own.

Luthors are intelligent. Clever. Witty.

They fill the spaces in textbooks designated for great discoveries and inventions, the casting of complicated spells, and creation of life-saving potions. The brightest witches and wizards of the age.

Luthors.

Luthors are Ravenclaws.

And Lena is a Luthor.

A fact that she’s reminded of everyday. It’s what’s expected of her. And yet she often questions it.

Yes she’s made top marks in the schools she’d attending growing up, excelling far beyond her peers. She has walls full of medals, certificates, and news prints with her face smiling back at her. Another achievement, another step towards the eternal recognition that’s in store for the great Luthor minds.

But then there’s the times where Lena would come home to the rage of her mother, a competition barely won because of a risky play before the final move, a comment from a teacher remarking on Lena’s rash behavior in moments of confrontation. Moments of defiance and bravery unbecoming of the Luthor name.

Carelessness. Spontaneity. Recklessness.

Luthors are thoughtful. They think things through. Carefully plan. They prepare, eager to spend as much time as necessary to ensure a perfectly executed outcome.

And yes, Lena does these things as well. True to the Luthor name, she’ll stay up for hours on end to complete assignments, or contemplate a wizard’s chess move in silence until it seems Lex’s red face can no longer handle the anticipation.

The door to her compartment slams shut, drawing Lena out of her thoughts.

“Is this seat open?”

The question is innocent enough yet so shocking to Lena that she can barely react, her head nodding on its own accord to grant the requestor’s wish.

The small blonde girl throws herself onto the seat across from Lena, a wide smile full of teeth she’ll hopefully grow into, and an eagerness behind black-framed glasses that is captivating.

“Hi, I’m Kara. Kara Danvers.”

Kara maintains her smile, her head tilting slightly to the side as she makes her introduction. Lena still can’t seem to snap out of her trance. The other students had rushed past the compartment with gossip-laden eyes and pointing fingers. Yet here was this girl, content to force her way in, seemingly unaware of the name hanging over Lena like a storm cloud.

“Lena…” she pauses, not wanting to ruin the moment of innocence. But a raised brow from Kara prompts Lena to continue, “…Luthor. Lena Luthor.”

The eyebrows fall and the girl sits back, content, repeating the name back to her, “Lena Luthor. That’s brilliant. Two L’s. An alliteration. Lena Luthor. Wow. I love it, it’s just so amazing! L and L.”

Kara laughs, filling the small space with her excitement. It spreads to Lena who finds herself giggling in return. So comfortable. So easy.

“Yeah, I guess so. Two L’s,” Lena concurs with the discovery. And then. In one of her moments of bravery, of reckless abandon, she reveals personal information, she reaches out, she divulges when every other Luthors’ instinct would be to assess and close off until more was known about the situation, “And my brother’s name is Lex! Lex Luthor! So it’s like, both of us!”

Kara’s eyes widen in a show of genuine disbelief, “No way. This is so cool…”

And so it continues. The laughter, the conversation, the silly anecdotes and revelations of nerves. The trees continue to pass, a blur of landscape that goes by unnoticed by the fast friends.

Kara orders nearly every sweet available from the trolley with an exclamation as to how amazing the selection was and constant inquiries as to what each dessert is before popping it into her mouth.

Lena goes into incredible detail of her latest win at a wizard’s chess championship. Her hands gesticulate wildly, her face lit up with the excitement of reliving the winning move. Kara listens in fascination, a chocolate frog forgotten in one hand as she absorbs Lena’s story.

As the train pulls into Hogsmeade and the first years are shuttled towards the lake, Lena finds herself side-by-side with Kara. The stares keep coming in the form of repeated glances and hands held over mouths. One of the whispers escapes and Kara hears it.

“A Luthor. There’s  a Luthor.”

And Luthors are Ravenclaws.

Kara looks from the culprits to Lena and back again, confused.

“Why do they know you’re name? I don’t understand.”

It’s so innocent that Lena wants to laugh yet so unexpected that she stops walking, the first years behind them colliding momentarily, “I’m a Luthor. Lena _Luthor_.”

The emphasis she places on her last name brings no reaction from Kara. She stares at Lena, obviously wanting some sort of explanation.

“Luthor,” Lena repeats. “As in Lionel. Lillian. Laverna? Lazarus??”

A blank stare. A spot of silence. Then, “Are you telling me, that all of your family members have names that start with an L?”

Lena’s face freezes in disbelief. She doesn’t know. She doesn’t know the Luthors. Their legacy, their impact, their reign within the wizarding world.

That Luthors are Ravenclaws.

She doesn’t know.

“You don’t know?”

“Know what?”

“About Luthors. My family. Who we are. You don’t know?”

Kara shrugs, “I’m going to be honest, this whole-“ she waves at the looming castle across the lake, the mass of students filing into rowerless boats, Hagrid’s large shape overseeing the affair, “-world is still new to me. I don’t…I don’t know much of anything.”

Kara’s voice fades as she looks back towards the other first years, the majority now floating towards Hogwarts. Hagrid waves them over and his booming voice encourages them closer. The reality of where they are is regained as Kara takes Lena’s hand and pulls her towards the water.

“You don’t know,” Lena stumbles along, the words barely escaping her mouth. Her disbelief goes unnoticed by the bobbing blonde in front of her. Long locks that wave across her back in stark contrast to the black robes and shine brightly in the moonlight.

Lena thinks back to her mother. Waving on the platform. The dead smile played across her lips, the stiff way she stood there, the last words she’d said to her as she’d pushed her onto the train.

“And remember. Luthors are Ravenclaws.”

Then the door had closed, the whistle blown, and Lena was left watching platform 9 ¾ disappear along with her mother. The words rang in her ears. As the other students stared and whispered. As the compartment sat empty save for only her. As the laughter from neighboring groups floated into where Lena sat, as her stomach twisted with the thought of being like her mother. Her father. Her brother.

A Luthor.

Feared yet revered. Never letting anyone close enough to form any connection. Surrounded by accomplishments yet forever alone. If that’s what Ravenclaws get then Lena doesn’t want it.

She wants the courage to buy all the sweets off the trolley, the bravery to grab a stranger’s hand, the confidence to enter a completely foreign world.

Hagrid places Kara with Lena and the boat sets off, moving seamlessly through the black water. It cuts the surface like a knife and distorts the reflection of the turrets and towers of Hogwarts Castle. Kara laughs the whole way there, one small hand in Lena’s, the other pointing out the minutest of details. A leaping mermaid here. A movement in the forest there. The song of a centaur in the distance.

And for a moment Lena forgets. She forgets that she’s a Luthor, the expectations, the weight, the fame. And for a moment she’s eleven. A child without the burden of a legacy.

The Great Hall is more than the descriptions she’d heard from Lex growing up. The floating candles filling the air around them. The smell of pine and pumpkin. The chatter of the older students taking in the new arrivals.

Lena adjusts the cap on her head and tugs at the robes around her shoulders. There’s no need, they are perfectly tailored. Perfectly fit. Brand new.

She’s a Luthor.

Yet she’s Lena. The cap slips off to the side despite her best efforts. The robes twist slightly as she walks. She doesn’t adjust them.

Kara seems to be floating along with the candles beside her. Her smile, which hasn’t disappeared since the train ride, is wider than ever. She fixes her lenses, pushing them back up the bridge of her nose, her mouth open in wonder. Her hand is still tight around Lena’s and is surprisingly strong for such a small girl.

The grip, if possible, tightens further as Kara’s excitement gets the best of her. Her free hand begins waving vigorously, directed at a figure across the hall.

“Lena, Lena, look, there’s Alex! My sister. Adopted sister. There she is! Oh there she is. Alex! Alex!”

Lena searches, eventually finding a tall figure giving a stiff wave and embarrassed smile.

“She hates when I do that,” Kara grins.

It’s a dynamic that Lena isn’t used to. Her and Lex are close, yes, but this public display of affection, this waving, a shout of names across the hall to gather attention. It’s new. It’s unheard of in the Luthor household.

And Lena is a Luthor.

The sorting hat’s song brings a round of applause that threatens to shatter the glass ceilings above them. The older students lean forward in anticipation while the nervous first years move closer together in a sudden wave of anxiety for the unknown.

But Lena knows.

Luthors are Ravenclaws.

She grasps Kara’s hand. Somehow it had gotten lost in the thrill of the song, the clapping, the excitement.

Kara looks over at the touch, taking a deep breath and whispering, “This is it.” Her eyes catch Lena’s and they hold for a beat before the first name is called and all eyes move forward.

The A’s. B’s. C’s.

Lena can’t breathe. She can’t think. With each letter, the prospect of losing the newfound friendship draws closer. She tightens her hold. Her fingers begin to ache. Kara doesn’t seem to mind.

Luthors are Ravenclaws.

D.

Danvers.

“Danvers, Kara.”

The thinning group parts to allow Kara to pass. Lena reluctantly lets go of her hand. The crowd surges forward once again and suddenly Lena can’t see. Kara is swallowed up in a sea of black robes. The tip of the hat barely visible to Lena’s view. A flash of blonde hair. A captivating silence.

“GRYFFINDOR!”

The hat is pulled off to a roar of applause from one of the four tables. Hats twirl in approval, whoops of joy accompany a chorus of whistles. Kara waves to her more serious counterpart across the hall, mimicking a lion, before being welcomed in to her new house.

Lena watches her go. The gold and red suddenly burning behind her eyes. The blue and bronze drowned out by this sudden realization. It had never been an option. It was never a choice. It had always been a fact.

That Luthors are Ravenclaws.

It’s a fact.

Everyone knows it, everyone expects it, and no one questions it.

But here Lena is. Rethinking everything she’s been taught, everything she’s grown up with. Every act of defiance. Every moment of courage.

The alphabet continues on, and Lena’s not fully aware until her name is being read out. Once. Twice. Three times.

“Luthor, Lena.”

The hush that comes seems heavier than the other names. Probably because hers holds weight. It holds the expectation of great things. Of the brightest witches and wizards the past five centuries have ever seen.

And Lena is one of them.

She’s a Luthor.

And Luthors are Ravenclaws.

Lena takes on the persona she’s adopted quite well from growing up a child surrounded by adults. A stiff neck, head held high, eyes straight ahead. The only thing that matters is the prize. The final goal. The sorting hat in front of her.

Her gaze shifts sideways.

It catches Kara who gives her a thumbs up. A small wave of the hand.

Luthors are Ravenclaws.

Ravenclaw.

Luthor.

Lena climbs the steps. She can feel the eyes of the other students on her back. It almost burns.

Her mother’s face on the platform. The wave. The smile. The look of knowing she’d had. That Lena’s fate was inevitably sealed. Known. A fact. Ravenclaw.

The hat is heavy and seems to engulf her. The outcome she’d been expecting to come quickly doesn’t appear. The initial silence that had filled the Great Hall at the announcement of her name still permeates the room. Ravenclaw.

Ravenclaw.

Luthors are Ravenclaws.

Why isn’t it happening? What is happening?

The grasp of Kara’s hand on the shore of the lake. The brash move, killing the knight to ultimately achieve the checkmate. The trust she’d placed in a total stranger. The wide grin and sun-kissed blonde hair. Her mother’s tight-lipped smile and feeble wave. The piles of awards and certificates, the books, the names, the L’s, the sweets, the hand, the-

“GRYFFINDOR!”

A gasp emanates from the hall. Stunned, they’re stunned. Shocked. Confused. Lena is a Luthor. And Luthors are Ravenclaws. It’s a fact.

The Gryffindor table suddenly erupts into applause. They reach forward and pull her in. Lena feels the hands of approval, the shouts of, “Congratulations!” and “Welcome!”

Kara appears next to her, pulling Lena into a tight hug.

“I knew it, oh I knew it! I mean, Alex is in Slytherin, but Eliza always pegged me for Gryffindor. No surprise there. But you’re here too! Oh I wished so hard. I mean, I just met you but we’re friends, right? Friends?”

The purity of the moment melts Lena’s heart and she nods in agreement. Friends. Yes. Friends.

And then it hits her. Her mother’s face. Her smile. The wave. The disappointment. The knowing look.

Her mother had known. Lillian had known.

That Luthors are Ravenclaws, yes.

But also that Lena is a Gryffindor.

The years of Lena’s confident and nearly fool-hardy behavior. The defiance and stubbornness. The recklessness. Her mother knew. She’d always known. And watching her only daughter ride off towards Hogwarts, her last words lingering in Lena’s ears, were a final wish. A hope that would never come true. A last-chance effort to perhaps change the fate that inevitably awaited.

Remember, Luthors are Ravenclaws.

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> tumblr @catfoxmandoo


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